Dancing On a Broken Heart
by weareyourheroes
Summary: From the scene in the Deathly Hallows movie; Ron leaves and breaks Hermione's heart and Harry tries to cheer her up by dancing with her to the song O Children by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. Read & Review.


**Dancing on a Broken Heart**

**From the scene in the Deathly Hallows movie; Ron leaves and breaks Hermione's heart and Harry tries to cheer her up by dancing with her to the song _O Children _by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. Read & Review.**

_Snip, snip, snip. _The sound of scissors slicing through Harry Potter's dark hair irritated Ron Weasley beyond belief. He clenched his fists till his knuckles turned white. Of course she would cut his hair. What else would she do for famous Harry Potter?

The past few weeks had gone by in a surreal blur. Ron strived to remember what exactly had gone on but all he could recall was feeling more and more furious by the day, furious that they were getting nowhere, furious that she wasn't paying any attention to him...

"Oh, my God!" Hermione Granger quietly announced. He didn't respond, just sagged deeper in his seat, hoping that she'd 'accidentally' run the scissors through Harry's scalp.

"What?" Harry replied.

Hermione dropped the scissors and rushed to the table where they usually ate. "I'll tell you in a minute."

Harry followed her. "Maybe you could tell me now?"

Hermione riffled through a book, her mind reeling as it always did when she made a discovery. "The Sword of Gryffindor. It's goblin made!"

"Brilliant..." He didn't know if this was important or not.

Hermione glanced up at him. "No, you don't understand! Dirt and rust have no effect on the blade. It only takes in that which makes it stronger."

Harry couldn't help but feel completely lost. "O...k?"

Hermione stared at him in disbelief. Why didn't he get it? "Harry, you've already destroyed one Horcrux, right? Tom Riddle's diary in the Chamber of Secrets?"

Ok, where could she possibly be going with his? "With a Basilisk's fang! If you tell me you've got one of those in that bloody beaded bag of yours..."

Hermione slammed her hand down on the table. "Don't you see? In the Chamber of Secrets you stabbed the basilisk with the Sword of Gryffindor. Its blade is impregnated with the venom."

"It only takes in that which makes it stronger!" Harry articulated, finally cottoning on, making Hermione smile.

"Exactly! Which means-"

"It can destroy Horcruxes!"

"Which is why Dumbledore left it to you in his will."

Finally, something to make sense of. It was the answer he had been looking for. Why had Dumbledore left him the sword, besides the fact that it was his in the first place because he had pulled it out of the Hat? Finally, he knew the real reason. It would help him on his quest to destroy the man who had destroyed his family.

"You are...brilliant, Hermione, truly!"

Ron rolled his eyes and sneered at this. He lifted himself off of the chair and rummaged through his knapsack. He found what he was searching for. Ignoring the painful creaking in his knees when he stood up, he moseyed over to the duo who were still enthusiastically discussing their new-found discovery.

"Actually, I'm highly logical which allows me to look past extremist detail. And perceive clearly on which others overlook," Hermione alleged modestly.

_Yeah, you'd be highly logical if you paid attention to me every once in a while."_

"Yeah, there's only one problem with this-"

Before Harry could finish his sentence, the lights blew out. Harry and Hermione looked up, startled at the sudden alter. Ron's voice came out of the dark.

"The sword was stolen."

The lights clicked back on and Ron stood in front of the pair. A look of deepest loathing was etched upon his face, which confused Harry and Hermione. They exchanged looks with each other and then glanced back at their red-haired friend.

"Yeah. I'm still here. But you two carry on. Don't let me spoil the fun."

_Oh no, _Hermione thought to herself as she glanced at the silver chain on Ron's neck. _He's still wearing it._

"What's wrong?" Harry pondered. He didn't sound curious or understanding. He sounded irate.

"Wrong? Nothing's wrong," Ron replied, struggling to keep his voice calm. "Not according to you, anyway."

Harry slammed Hermione's book shut, swung his legs around the long wooden chair he was sitting on and faced Ron.

"If you've got something to say, don't be shy. Spit it out."

Hermione looked down at her nails and picked a small piece of dirt out from under one of them, holding her breath, knowing a fight was about to break out.

"Alright, I'll spit it out. But don't expect me to be grateful just because there's one more damn thing we gotta find!"

Harry stared at the tall figure in front of him. What the hell was his problem? "I thought you knew what you signed up for."

"Yeah. I thought I did too."

Harry jumped up from his seat and marched over to Ron, his throat locked. "Well, then I'm sorry, I don't quite understand. What part of this isn't living up to your expectations? What, did you think we'd be staying in five-star hotels? Finding Horcruxes every other day? You think you'd be back with your mum by Christmas?"

"I just thought, after all this time, that we would've achieved something," Ron snarled, his voice heated. "I thought you knew what you were doing; I thought Dumbledore would've told you something worthwhile. I thought you had a plan."

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was Ron seriously turning against him, _now_? "I told you everything Dumbledore told me! And in case you haven't noticed, we've found a Horcrux already."

"Yeah, and we're about as close to getting rid of it as we are to finding the rest of them, aren't we!"

Hermione had had enough. She couldn't stand to watch her two best friends fight, not when they were in a situation full of peril such as this one. She grabbed Ron's shoulders and tried to grab the necklace and yank it off of him. "Ron. Please." He pushed her away roughly, but he wasn't focusing on her. He hated him. Harry. The bloody so-called "Chosen One."

"Please take the Horcrux off," Hermione continued breathlessly. "You wouldn't be saying this if you hadn't been wearing it all day."

Ron pushed her away again and she didn't dare try to get it off him again until his anger subsided. When he spoke again, she winced. She despised to hear his voice like this. "Do you know why I listen to that radio every day? To make sure I don't hear Ginny's name."

Harry's heart soared around his chest and out of his mouth when he heard Ginny's name.

"-Or Fred, or George, or mum."

"What, you think I'm not listening too? You think I don't know how this feels!"

"NO, YOU DON'T KNOW HOW IT FEELS!" Ron roared, making Hermione jump back in fright. "You're parents are dead, you have no family!"

Nothing didn't matter anymore. Not Horcruxes, not the Sword, not even Ginny. All that mattered was that he was able to lunge and close his hands around Ron's miserable throat.

"Stop, stop!" Hermione cried, trying to pry the boys off of each other.

"Fine, then go! Go then!"

Seething, Ron strided backwards, ripped the Horcrux off his neck and threw it to the ground.

"Ron!"

He barely heard her as he stomped over to the entrance of the tent, his knapsack firmly placed over his shoulder. He halted and spun around to face Hermione. She gaped at him, her wide chocolate brown eyes alive with fear and dread. He took in her honey-coloured sleek hair, her cream and roses skin and her shell pink lips one more time before asking the question that he already knew the answer to.

"And you? Are you coming or you staying?"

Hermione drew slight breath and glanced back at Harry, who was gawking open-mouthed at the two of them. Ron took this the wrong way and his heart thudded painfully in his chest. "Fine. I get it. I saw you two the other night." The words hurt even more to say it aloud then to think it.

"Ron that...that's nothing!" Hermione whimpered but it was too late. He had already turned and walked out into the cool afternoon air. "Ron. Ron, where are you going?"

Harry listened to the sound of his crunching footsteps, the sound of her voice tearing with emotion and thick with tears; he heard the loud CRACK of his disapparation and Hermione's broken yell pierced the day. "Come back! Ron!"

_He's not coming back, Hermione._

"RON!"

It was silent. He could feel the breath of the wind throbbing on the tent. Cautiously, he stepped outside and found Hermione standing on the edge of the pier, staring out into the distance, her face utterly glassy. He could practically hear her heart breaking in two.

It was time to leave. Harry knew that Hermione wanted to get away from this place as soon as possible...the place where Ron had left her. Her face hadn't betrayed any emotion in the last hour and he knew that she was labouring to hold it in. He grabbed her hand and for a split second, his attention turned to Ginny and the feeling of her silky skin on his, then he experienced the familiar sensation of being forced through a very tight rubber tube. Unable to breathe, he concentrated on nothing but Hermione's loose grip on his hand, knowing that she couldn't wait to get away from him, and then suddenly, he was gulping grateful lungfuls of air. Hermione immediately let go of his hand. She couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she walked away before he could notice.

Harry sighed and started to perform the spells that Hermione usually did when they moved to a new location.

"_Salvio hexia...Protego totalum...Repello Muggletum...Muffliato..."_

Harry returned to the tent and found Hermione sitting on a step with the radio playing a Muggle song that Harry had heard once, the year before he went to Hogwarts. Uncle Vernon had hosted a "quaint" dinner with a "few" of his Grunnings employees. Harry remembered sitting at the top of the stairs, watching the couples laugh and drink their way across the floor. All he could think about was the day he would be with the girl of his dreams and instead of laughing and drinking their way across the floor, they would stand in the middle of everyone and dance. Just simply dance.

_I love her, _the little voice in the back of his head whispered. _I love her, but like a sister. I wish I could patch up her heart but...not like this._

_O children  
Lift up your voice lift up your voice  
Children  
Rejoice, rejoice_

He offered his hand out to her. Reluctantly, she raised her head. _Please, Harry, no. _He showed no signs of moving so she slipped her hand inside of his and allowed him to raise her to her feet. He unhooked the Horcrux from around her delicate neck and tossed it onto the lower bunk.

_Smile, Hermione. Please._

_Hey little train! We are all jumping on  
The train that goes to the Kingdom  
We're happy, Ma, we're having fun  
And the train ain't even left the station._

He led her over to the middle of the tent, intent on capturing the moment he had dreamt of in his childhood. He spun her around and she started to laugh. For a moment, she looked up and saw Ron's light blue eyes juxtaposing with her brown ones.

_Hey, little train! Wait for me!  
I once was blind but now I see _

_Have you left a seat for me?_

_Is that such a stretch of the imagination?_

She blinked and they returned to emerald green. They were Harry's eyes. Not his.

_Hey little train! Wait for me!  
I was held in chains but now I'm free  
I'm hanging in there, don't you see  
In this process of elimination_

He caught Hermione staring into his eyes for a moment before she blinked and turned her head. _Look at me, Hermione. _As if she had read his thoughts, she glanced up at him again. In that moment, Harry found her eyes and was mesmerized by how bright they were. Dreams of staring into those awe-inspiring eyes again were coming true. He blinked and the eyes returned to Hermione's own dark shade. It was her eyes he saw. Not Ginny's.

_Hey little train! We are all jumping on  
The train that goes to the Kingdom  
We're happy, Ma, we're having fun  
It's beyond my wildest expectation_

He thought of leaving Hermione behind and Disapparating to the Burrow, stealing Ginny away in the dead of the night and taking her to a place far beyond their wildest imaginations. There, they would be safe. There, they wouldn't have to worry about Voldemort, of Horcruxes or death or loss or despair.

It was a glorious thought but Harry wrenched his mind back to the grim reality he was facing. He couldn't be with Ginny until Voldemort was gone. It was gut-churning to think about her. So instead, he just leant his head on Hermione's shoulder and pulled her closer to him, imagining that she had long, flowing, fiery red hair. He couldn't help wishing that it was Ginny who was holding his hand, that it was Ginny whose head was resting on his ear; that it was Ginny he was dancing with to his favourite song.

The song ended and the two best friends parted. In the few moments that they watched each other, understanding and hope passed through him. Understanding of that they both felt the same way, miserable and cold inside, and hope that one day their hearts would be healed.

_Hey little train! We are all jumping on  
The train that goes to the Kingdom  
We're happy, Ma, we're having fun  
And the train ain't even left the station..._


End file.
